Nelsinho Piquet must up his game and ‘start having more good bits than bad bits', Renault have warned – or else the Brazilian will find his time in
Formula 1 is fast running out.
The 22-year-old has struggled so far this season – his maiden campaign in the top flight – failing to trouble the points-scorers in the opening five grands prix and rarely getting close to team-mate
Fernando Alonso in terms of lap times, trailing the double world champion five-nil in the qualifying stakes.
Piquet has an average starting position of 15th – in stark contrast to Alonso's eighth – and twice has dropped out in the opening phase of the qualifying session. What's more, a litany of spins and errors have spoiled his race performances – with just two finishes to his name, and the best of those eleventh place in Malaysia, three spots and 22 seconds behind Alonso – and now Renault are beginning to ramp up the pressure.
“He needs to start having more good bits than bad bits,” the
Régie's sporting manager Steve Nielsen told
F1SA, “and he needs to start doing that as soon as he can.
“Formula 1 is a business – it's a very cut-throat business – and if people don't deliver, they go the obvious way.”
Despite the threat of the axe hanging over his head should he not up his game – and soon – Piquet remained upbeat about his prospects, comparing his trials and tribulations to those of predecessor
Heikki Kovalainen, who was publicly slated by
Renault's outspoken managing director Flavio Briatore following a disappointing debut in Australia last year. The Finn took several races to get fully into his stride before dramatically turning his season around in the second half and going on to secure a McLaren-Mercedes seat in 2008.
